Shaver apparatus



Dec. 20, 1955 c. F. MARLEY SHAVER APPARATUS 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed March 24, 1953 56 INVENTOR 625M540" 5% 40 BY 6?? AGENT Dec. 20, 1955 c. F. MARLEY SHAVER APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1953 INVENTOR C(MzwrF/Zwzzr a MUM- AGENT United States Patent SHAVER APPARATUS Clement F. Marley, Nokomis, 11!. Application Mai-eh 24, 1953, Serial No. 344,279 1 Claim. c1. 30-415 My inventionrelates to shaver apparatus provided with a" cutter head having a suction or vacuum created therein.

Hr'etofo're various attempts have been made to provide a shaver having a vacuum or suction created in the cutter head, but these attempts have not been successful and have been generally characterized by the use of the same power source for operating the cutting element and for creating the suction or vacuum. For example, in an electric shaver a motor has been utilized to operate the movable cutting member as well as a fan blade placed within the shaver casing. The motor and fan blade must be necessarily small to prevent the shaver from being unwieldable'.

The amount of pressure differential that may be created between the intake and discharge sides of such a fan is small, even when the intake is closed from communication, except through the fan, with the atmosphere of the discharge side, and the volume of air moved by the fan is very slight; These factors, coupled with the fact that the motor used in such shavers has a very low power output,- due' primarily to its small size, serve to make these shavers incapable of satisfactory operation.

These ditliculties as well as many others are overcome by, my novel shaver which provides suihcient vacuum to draw the flesh and hair of a user into good hair cutting contact with the cutter head and also provides an ample draft to remove the cut hairs and cool the cutter head. Other advantages and objects of my invention are:

To provide shaver apparatus having a suction or vacuum createdin the cutter head by means of a source of ower apart-from the shaver;

To provide a cutter head having only one open side and having" a suction or vacuum created therein;

To provide an electric shaver having a hollow cutter headwith one open side through which hairs may extend, the interior of the cutter head being in communication with appara'tusapart from the shaver for producing a suction-or vacuum within the cutter head;

To provide an electric shaver comprising a driven element-and a' cutter head havinga casing enclosing a cutting element; wherein, the driven element extends through the casing into' driving engagement with the cutting element and the casing'is sealed around said driven element;

To'provide a cutter head, adapted for use with an external vacuum or suction producing means, that may be readily exchanged with conventional cutter heads and be used with present day electric'shaversyand To provide a cutter head, adapted for use with a vacuum or suction producing means, having thedisposi= tion of the shearing plate arranged to enhance the creanon o f'avacuum or suction Within the cutter head;

- "Diese and other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds and is read in conjunction with the accompanying rawings in which! Fig. 1 shows my novel cutter headoperatively mounted one. conventional electri c'shaver;

2,727,303 Patented Dec. 20, 1955 ice Fig 2 is an exploded view showing the cutter head separated from the shaver body;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken through the cutter head on lines 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on lines 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on lines 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig; 6 shows my novel shaver connected With an aspirator, whereby, the suction or vacuum created in the cutter head is caused by the flow of water;

M Fig. 7 shows an electric shaver connected with a suction fan or vacuum pump; 7 v

Fig. 8 shows an electric shaver connected with a conduit which is part of a master suction and vacuum system;

Fig. 9 shows an electric shaver driven from the electric system of an automobile and with the suction and vacuum tube of the cutter head connected with a coupler that is connected to the intake manifold of the automobiles engine;

Fig. 10 shows a view similar to Fig. 4 of another form of the cutter head; and

Fig. 11 is a view taken on lines 1111 of Fig. 10.

As seen in Fig. 1, an electric shaver has a shaver body 22, which carries an electric plug 24 at its rearward end and mounts a cutter head 26 at its forward end. The body 22 contains an electric motor (not shown) and other mechanisms of a conventional electric shaver. Plug 24 is connected with cord 28 and supplies electric power to the electric motor.

Fig. 2 is a partial view of the forward end of the electric shaver 29 shown in Fig. 1, but with the cutter head 26 removed from body 22; The shaver body is provided with oppositely curved faces 34) and 32 which terminate adjacent a groove 34 formed transversely across the shaver body. A driver element 36, the function of which will be hereinafter more fully described, extends from within the shaver body 22 into groove 34.

A reduced portion 33 of cutter head 26 is adapted to seatwithin groove 34. A tapped bore opens into groove 34'and' through curved face 32' of the shaver body. A screw 42 may be threaded into bore 40 to loclith'e cutter head to' the shaver body by securing the reduced portion38'o'f the cutter head within groove 34'.

Itwill' be noted that in the drawings I have shown an electric shaver having only one cutter head. However, itshould be understood that a plurality of cutter heads may be used without departing from the scope of my invention.

The structure of my novel cutter head is best seen in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5. Cutter head 26 is made up of a casing, generally designated 44, and cutter element'or shearing cutter 46. The shearing cutter 46 is enclosed within casing 4 As seen in Figs. 4 and 5 the reduced portion 38 of cutter head 2 6 has a central aperture 48 formed therein. An upper enlarged, hollow portion 50 of cutter head 26 is formed by deforming sides 52 and 54 outwardly from the reduced portion End pieces 56 and 58 extend upwardiy from reduced portion 38 to span the area between sides 52 and 54" of the'e'nlar'ged portion 501 The upper face 69 of cutter head 26 is in the form or a shearing'plate 62 having alternate slots and cutter blades 64, as best seen in Fig. 2. Theshearing plate 62 e'xterros between sides 52 and 54 and between end pieces 56 and 58.

The shearing cutter 46 is thus disposed within a charmber formed by sides 52 and 54, end pieces 56 and 58, shearing plate 62, and the reduced portion 38 of the cutter head. The shearing cutter 46 comprises a bottom plate 66 (Figs. 4 and 5), side walls 68 and 70,.and cutter blades 72 extending between side walls 68 and 70. Thus the shearing cutter 46 is also a hollo w memb er.

The cutter blades 72 of the shearing cutter are spaced apart similar to the blades 64 of shearing plate 62. The shearing cutter 46 is somewhat shorter than the chamber provided within the casing 44 so that the shearing cutter may oscillate within the casing 44 as hereinafter explained. Upon oscillation of the shearing cutter, the cutter blades on both the shearing plate 62 and shearing cutter 46 will cooperate to sever any hairs extending through the shearing plate.

In Figs. 4 and 5 it will be noted that aperture 48 through the reduced portion 38 of cutter head 26 has an enlarged cylindrical cavity 74 formed at the lower end thereof. A rubber or resilient seal 76 is snugly fitted into cavity 74 and is provided with a central opening 78. The central opening 73 is slightly'smaller than driver element 36 so that the latter may be forced into the former to maintain a fluid tight connection therebetween. The seal 76 also provides a fluid tight seal between it and the walls of cavity 74.

The lower side of bottom plate 66 of shearing cutter 46 is machined away to provide an indentation 80.

When the cutter head 26 is moved into groove 34 of the shaver, driver member 36 passes through seal 76 and into indentation 80 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

In the shaver shown in the drawings driver member 36 is oscillated by the electric motor. Since the member 36 is disposed within the indentation of shearing cutter 46 the cutter will be driven back and forth within casing 44. The total movement of member 36 is small and the seal 76 will yield to permit such movement while maintaining a sealing relation to close off the bottom of the cutter head.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the interior of the cutter head is sealed over all except the front face 60. In order to connect the interior of the cutter head with a source of suction and vacuum a short length of conduit 82 is connected through end piece 58 so that the interior of the conduit communicates with the interior of the cutter head. While conduit 82 is preferably secured to one or the other of the end pieces 56 or 58 it should be readily appreciated that the conduit may be connected through any of the other sides of the cutter head.

In Fig. 6 I have shown an embodiment of my invention wherein conduit 82 is connected to a tube 84 by means of a coupler or connector 86. The tube 84 is V flexible and is made fast to electric cord 28 by means of clips 88. Tube 84 is secured at its other end to the suction intake 90 of an aspirator 92. The aspirator 92 is connected to a faucet 94 so that water from the faucet will pass through the aspirator and create a suction in tube 84.

In operating the shaver shown in Fig. 6 the aspirator 92 is connected to faucet 94 and the plug 96 is connected to an electric circuit. The faucet 94 is then opened so that water will flow through aspirator 92. This flow of water creates a suction within tube 84, which, since it is in communication with the interior of cutter head 26, creates a suction in the cutter head. So long as the upper face 60 (Figs. 2 and 5) of the cutter head is unobstructed, air will be drawn into the cutter head and thence through tube 84.

If the upper face 69 is closed over by placing the shaver against the face, a vacuum will be created within the cutter head. The vacuum thus created will draw and hold the skin of the user against cutter blades 64 of upper face 60 and causes the whiskers to extend into perfect cutting relationship with the cutter blades.

Thus it will be seen that a vacuum may be created to draw the whiskers of a user into good cutting disposition or a strong draft may be created through the cutter head to remove the severed whiskers depending upon whether the flesh of the user completely closes over upper face 4 60 of the cutter head or the upper face is partially or completely open to the atmosphere.

In normal use the cutter head will periodically have a vacuum created therein when the shaver is moved over the face in close shaving disposition and have a draft developed therethrough when the shaver is removed from contact with the face or is so held as to prevent the flesh of the user from being drawn against the cutter blades 64 to completely cover upper face 60. When air is drawn through the cutter head, any whiskers severed thereby will be drawn through tube 84 into the stream of water from the faucet. This eliminates any necessity of cleaning the shaver and disposes of the whiskers. Also the circulation of air serves to cool the cutter head and eliminates the unpleasant heat created in prior art shavers.

The use of an aspirator to create the suction or vacuum within the cutter head has been found to produce both a high vacuum and draft. The universal availability of water under pressure, particularly where most electric shavers are used, makes an aspirator an ideal source of power.

In the drawings the casing 44 has been illustrated as being a solid piece. It should be appreciated that the reduced portion 38, sides 52 and 54, end pieces 56 and 5S, and shearing plate 62 may be individual parts joined together as by soldering or welding. While the driver member 36 is described as an oscillating member it can of course, have other types of motion, such as rotational movement, in order to drive a shearing cutter.

The arrangement and disposition of shearing plate 62 will have an efiect upon whether a vacuum may be readily created in the cutter head. The cutter head shown in the drawings is particularly adapted to facilitate the creation of a vacuum in order to draw the skin of the user into good whisker shearing disposition. The terms vacuum and suction are to be distinguished. It is considered that a suction is created in the cutter head when the upper face 60 thereof is not completely covered and air is being drawn through the upper face, and that a vacuum is created in the cutter head when the upper face 60 is covered to prevent the circulation of air therethrough.

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 5 sides 52 and 54 of the enlarged portion of the cutter head have rounded upper edges 98 and 100 and side pieces 56 and 58 have rounded edges 102 and 104 all of which edges-extend beyond the plane of shearing plate 62. Thus, when the cutter head is moved against the flesh of a user, edges 98104 contact the flesh to close communication through the shearing plate. This produces a vacuum in the cutter head which draws the flesh down into the cutter head' against the shearing plate. The shearing plate 62 and shearing cutters 46 are then able to sever the whiskers near the surface of the skin and provide a close shave.

If it is desired to reduce the vacuum elfec and enhance the suction effect the cutter head may be so constructed as to reduce the likelihood of closing communication through the shearing plate 62 by the skin of the user. By increasing or decreasing the convexity of the shearing plate the area of the same that has open communication under any given operating circumstances may be, respectively, increased or decreased.

When the shaver is in whisker-cutting operation and air is circulated through the shearing plate, a very "coo shave is provided. It will, of course, be appreciated that the face of the user will be drawn against the shearing plate even when air is passing therethrough but a greater pull will be exerted against the face when a vacuum condition exists within the cutter head. 7

The type of power source used to create the vacuum and suction will also control to an extent the operation of the shaver. As previously stated the aspirator shown in Fig. 6 provides both an ample vacnum and suction. In Figs.

7, 8, and 9 I have shown other devices for creating the vacuum and suction in the cutter head, which devices create a sufficient vacuum and suction and are conveniently available.

When water under pressure is not available or for some other reason an aspirator is not used, a vacuum pump or suction fan may be used to create the suction and vacuum. Fig. 7 shows the hose 84 of shaver 20 connected to the intake 110 of a vacuum pump or suction fan 112. A vacuum pump permits the maintenance of a high vacuum within the cutter head while a suction fan is capable of circulating a relatively large volume of air through the cutter head. A particularly good and commonly available source of vacuum is the household vacuum cleaner.

In Fig. 8 the hose 84 is conected to a coupler 114 mounted on wall 116. A nipple 113 is connected between a pipe 120 and coupler 114. The pipe 120 may, for example, be connected in a master vacuum or suction circuit wherein a single pump, blower or any other form of pressure reducing apparatus provides the vacuum or suction for several electric shavers. Systems of this sort are particularly adapted for use in hotels, public rest rooms and the like where a plurality of shavers may be operated at the same or difierent locations.

An appreciable number of electric shavers are now adapted to operate off the electrical circuit of an automobile. In Fig. 9 such a shaver is designated by the numeral 122, and is provided with my novel cutter head 26. An electric cord 124 is plugged into a receptable 126 on the dashboard of the automobile. Tube 128 which communicates with the interiors of cutter head 26 is also connected with a coupler 130 on the dashboard. Coupler 130 is connected with the intake manifold (not shown) of the engine. Thus so long as the engine is operating a suction or vacuum will be created in the cutter head 26.

In Figs. 10 and 11 I have shown another form of the novel cutter head, wherein, a concave shearing plate is utilized, provision is made for removing the shearing cutter and cleaning the interior of the cutter head, and a difierent seal is used to close off communication between the driver element and the casing. These figures are similar to Figs. 4 and 5 except that the driver element is shown in Fig. 10, and corresponding parts have been given corresponding numbers.

As seen in these figures the driver element 36 carries a sealing member 132, having an arcuate face 134 adapted to seat against arcuate face 136 provided in the bottom face of reduced portion 38 of the cutter head. A bore 138 is provided through the face 136 so that the driver element may engage shearing cutter 66. Sealing member 132 may be of metal, plastic, leather or any other material.

The arcuate faces 134 and 136 are so formed that the faces remain in close sliding contact, when sealing member 132 is oscillated by driver element 36. Thus sealing member 132 closes communication through the bottom of the cutter head. Lubricant applied to faces 134 and 136 serves to insure good sealing contact therebetween.

End piece 56 of casing 44 is provided with a threaded bore opening into the interior of enlarged portion 50 of the cutter head. A threaded plug 140 is removably mounted within this bore. When plug 140 is removed the shearing cutter 46 may be withdrawn through the bore in end piece 50 so that a new cutter element may be inserted if needed and the interior of the cutter head cleaned. The plug 140 seals ofi communication through end piece 56 when threaded into the bore.

The shearing plate 62 and cutter blades 72 of the cutter head shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5 were convex in shape. The shearing plate 1 .2 and cutter blades 144 of the shearing cutter 46 shown in Figs. 10 and 11 are of a concave configuration. As seen in Fig. 11 the shearing cutter 46 is narrower than shearing plate 142. However, the openings between the cutter blades of shearing plate 142 extend to sides 52 and 54 of the cutter head.

With this arrangement, when a suction is created within the cutter head, placing the cutter head against the face of a user will cause the skin to be drawn against shearing plate 142 over its entire area. The skin will be stretched a great deal immediately adjacent the cutter blades 144 to cause the Whiskers to extend into the interior of the cutter headp By so stretching the skin the whiskers may be severed at a point which is normally disposed below the surface of the skin and thereby provide a very smooth shave. In other words, the stretching of the skin flattens the pores surrounding the hairs and exposes the hairs for closer shaving.

It should be appreciated that the cutter head of Figs. 2 through 5 will, in operation, stretch the skin of the user between edges 98-104 into contact with shearing plate 62. This permits shearing of the whiskers at or below the surface of the skin.

While I have shown and described my invention in connection with electric shavers having an oscillating driver element, it should be readily appreciated that the invention is not so limited. The invention may be equally Well applied to shavers having any other type of drive, for example, a rotating shearing element and shavers having various types of cutter elements and heads.

In the drawings the conventional whisker catchers, which are provided on most shavers, have not been shown in order to more clearly illustrate the invention. In Fig. l the disposition of the whisker catchers have been indicated by dotted lines 146.

From the foregoing it should be evident that I have provided a novel shaver apparatus, including a cutter head sealed from communication with the atmosphere over all but one face, which face cooperates with a shearing cutter to sever whiskers, with the interior of the cutter head being in communication with a device for producing a vacuum or suction in the cutter head independently of the driving means for the shearing cutter.

I claim:

A cutter head for a shaver comprising a hollow casing having a first opening formed therein to receive a driver member, a second opening therein, and spaced openings therein through which hairs may extend, means to seal said first opening, removable means to close said second opening, said interior of said casing being closed from communication with the atmosphere except through said spaced openings, a shearing cutter disposed within said casing, and conduit means communicating with the interior of said casing, whereby, communication between the atmosphere and the interior of said casing may be cutoff by closing off said spaced openings, said shearing cutter being removable from said casing through said second opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,023,359 Birrell et a1 Apr. 16, 1912 1,690,133 Schick Nov. 6, 1928 2,202,203 Hill May 28, 1940 2,238,148 Zahn Apr. 15, 1941 2,601,720 Carissimi July 1, 1952 

